Situation Ethics
Joseph Fletcher
Situation Ethics was developed by Joseph Fletcher. He was an Anglican priest in
the USA, who published a book in 1966. His theory had one guiding principle –
Agape. It is a word used to describe God’s love for humanity and the love that
Christians should show to God and other people.
Situation Ethics is –
• A relativistic theory. This means that there are no universal rules or
norms and that each situation has to be looked at independently and
taken at its own merit. Every situation is relative (dealt with individually)
• A consequential theory. This means moral judgements must be made on
the outcome or consequences of an action. For Situation Ethics it is
whether an action has the most loving consequences that matters.
• A teleological theory – This means it is concerned with the end purpose
or goal of an action. For Situation Ethics the goal should be self-sacrificing
love.
Fletcher wrote that most ethical theories are not helpful in making important
decisions. He said this was because the theories were either lawless
(antinomianism) or too legalistic.
Antinomianism – This literally means ‘against law.’ It is an attitude where
people are not obliged to obey any laws of ethics. Any difficult decision a
person has to make can be done so using their intuition. They will just know
what to do. Fletcher rejected this because he said if there are no guiding
principles then there will be moral chaos.
Legalism – This attitude places laws and rules above any other
considerations. An example would be Natural Law. Fletcher rejected this
because he said it didn’t give people any choice. They had to follow the rules.
Antinomianism and Legalism – Fletcher wanted a “middle way” between both
these approaches. It has no rules, but only one guiding principle – the
application of love, which Jesus talks about in the New Testament.
The essential point of Situation Ethics is:
• To be the middle ground between lawlessness and legalism
• To reject absolute moral laws, which are applied in all situations.
• To insist that there is only one principle for Christian morality,
namely the law of love. This is the only absolute rule.
Joseph Fletcher
Situation Ethics was developed by Joseph Fletcher. He was an Anglican priest in
the USA, who published a book in 1966. His theory had one guiding principle –
Agape. It is a word used to describe God’s love for humanity and the love that
Christians should show to God and other people.
Situation Ethics is –
• A relativistic theory. This means that there are no universal rules or
norms and that each situation has to be looked at independently and
taken at its own merit. Every situation is relative (dealt with individually)
• A consequential theory. This means moral judgements must be made on
the outcome or consequences of an action. For Situation Ethics it is
whether an action has the most loving consequences that matters.
• A teleological theory – This means it is concerned with the end purpose
or goal of an action. For Situation Ethics the goal should be self-sacrificing
love.
Fletcher wrote that most ethical theories are not helpful in making important
decisions. He said this was because the theories were either lawless
(antinomianism) or too legalistic.
Antinomianism – This literally means ‘against law.’ It is an attitude where
people are not obliged to obey any laws of ethics. Any difficult decision a
person has to make can be done so using their intuition. They will just know
what to do. Fletcher rejected this because he said if there are no guiding
principles then there will be moral chaos.
Legalism – This attitude places laws and rules above any other
considerations. An example would be Natural Law. Fletcher rejected this
because he said it didn’t give people any choice. They had to follow the rules.
Antinomianism and Legalism – Fletcher wanted a “middle way” between both
these approaches. It has no rules, but only one guiding principle – the
application of love, which Jesus talks about in the New Testament.
The essential point of Situation Ethics is:
• To be the middle ground between lawlessness and legalism
• To reject absolute moral laws, which are applied in all situations.
• To insist that there is only one principle for Christian morality,
namely the law of love. This is the only absolute rule.
